Kathmandu, May 26: An all-party meeting was held at the Prime Minister's residence today to forge a consensus among the parties represented in the parliament to amend the Constitution so as to include the updated map of the country in the Schedule (emblem) of the Constitution.

The meeting was called by the Prime Minister to forge a consensus on the constitution amendment motion registered in the parliament by the government, said Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali.

On the occasion, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli expressed the view that the matter should be dealt with based on a national unity on the matters of national integrity and sovereignty. He requested all the parties in the parliament to join hands and stand in favour of the amendment.

Foreign Minister Gyawali also quoted the Prime Minister as saying that other position vis-à-vis the constitution of various political parties could be addressed following discussion in the days to come, but this was an urgent matter that needs to be dealt with immediately.

However, main opposition leader and NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba sought some time for discussion, despite sharing the party's intention to vote in favour of the amendment. The matter will be decided by the party's central committee meeting.

Likewise, leaders of the Janata Samajbadi Party voiced to include their demands in regards to amendment of the Constitution. That would further consolidate national consensus, they said. "However, they do not defer on matters concerning territorial integrity," Gyawali said.

The all-party meeting was also organized to discuss ways to move ahead on matters relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Prime Minister also urged the matter of amendment to be addressed immediately as it would be risky to run the parliament meeting for long in the current situation.
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